


Max: Not Alone

by Nagisa_Akabane



Series: "We'll Live Forever, As A Family" (Short Stories) [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Fluff, Hybrids, Loneliness, Nightmares, Science Experiments, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2018-08-04
Packaged: 2019-06-14 05:56:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15382155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nagisa_Akabane/pseuds/Nagisa_Akabane
Summary: Part 1 of my short stories for my original characters.





	Max: Not Alone

**_"Max Griffiths. Age, 19. Species, fruit bat hybrid._ **

**_Background: When he was only a month old, Max was abandoned by his parents and taken in by scientists who experimented on him, made him and a few others their test subjects. He was kept in a cage when they weren't using him. At the age of 12, he and the others broke out. Their whereabouts are unknown. Most believe they didn't survive."_ **

**_____ **

_"Max, you have to get out of here!" Fantasia shouted, helping Clarissa keep her balance. Blood dripped from a bullet wound on Clarissa's side, and she was limping from another wound on her leg._

_Max opened his mouth to speak, to protest against running away, but no words came out. He was shoved to the ground._

_"Go!" Ares' voice boomed in his ears. He looked up just in time to see the fire fully consume what once was their home. It didn't take long for the fire to reach the others._

_Max watched, unable to move, as his friends were embraced by the horrible flames._ _"NO!" He finally managed to shout, but it was no use. They were already gone._

Max jolted awake, gasping for breath. His heart was pounding against his chest, his hazel eyes wide in fear. He blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision from the tears that threatened to fall. He reached up, wiping at his eyes with the backs of his sleeves.  _'Why?'_ He thought, pulling his legs up to his chest.  _'Why did I dream of that?'_

"Max!" A shout of his name jolted him out of his thoughts. "Breakfast's ready!"

Max got up from his bed, combing his fingers through his raven black hair to try and make it look more presentable and less like he hadn't brushed it in days.  Having his wings tucked in, Max made his way to the kitchen, where the others were waiting.

_Fantasia, Clarissa, Lulu, Tavas, Ares._

They all were there. Alive. Not a single scar or bruise in sight.

"Morning, sleeping beauty." Fantasia teased then motioned for him to sit down. "Have a seat." Max pulled out a chair, sitting down then scooting the chair closer to the table. Ares seemed to study his face, looking for something. He gave a frown when Max kept his face blank.

Not letting anyone past his walls. As always.

He let out a sigh, knowing he wouldn't be able to get anything out of him if he tried. Fantasia set down plates for everyone. Max looked to see what the food was. Simple eggs, sausage, bacon, and fruit was set in the middle for anyone who wanted it. To everyone's surprise, he didn't reach and get some food. It quite honestly worried them.

"Max?" Lulu spoke up, looking at the older male. "You alright?"

Shock appeared on his face, if only for a few seconds. He then nodded, his face showing no more emotion. "Yeah, Lulu. I'm fine. Never felt better." There was no emotion in his voice either.

 _'Something is wrong.'_ The others all thought.  _'There's no doubt about it.'_

Nothing else was said about it for the rest of the time they ate. But everyone, without Max knowing, thought and worried about him and how he was acting.

Max quietly headed back to his room after breakfast, not saying a single word to the others. Ares followed him after a couple minutes, wanting to see if he could possibly get anything out of him. He doubted it, but...he still wanted to see. 

Once getting to Max's room, Ares waited a minute or two before knocking. "Max?"

No response.

"Max, I know you're in there. I will come in on my own if I need to."

Again...nothing.

Ares took a deep breath before grabbing the doorknob and turning it. It was unlocked, which only worried him more. Max always locked his door. He opened the door, looking over to where Max was. 

Max was sitting on his bed, his knees up to his chest, his wings wrapped around him as a protective shield. And if Ares listened close, he'd be able to hear Max's crying. He bit down on his lip. Max Griffiths, the only person who never showed weakness, never allowed himself to be vulnerable, never shed a single tear, was  _crying._

Ares wasn't fully sure how to possibly handle this. He guessed he should probably start with figuring out  _why_ Max was crying.

"Hey," he began softly, slowly walking closer to the bed. "Max, hey..." He watched as the younger male somewhat peeked out from behind his wings. "What's wrong? You were acting so different."

No response. Max shifted to have his back turned to Ares, which revealed the wounds from where his wings came out from, since he didn't have a shirt on. Which was another weird thing. Even when alone, Max always wore some kind of shirt. So for him to not have a shirt on...

Ares went back over to the door and flicked the light on, ignoring the small hiss Max gave. His stomach dropped when he looked back over to the bed and saw  _blood._ He took a shaky breath before going back over to Max, grabbing his shoulder and turning him to face him, easily pinning him down on the bed. The sight before him sickened him.

All on Max's arms were cuts, some very recent. Then, right above the waistband of his pants were two cuts on either side. Max twisted to get out of his grasp, seeming to let out a whimper when the fabric of his pants brushed against his legs. Ares rose an eyebrow at this before starting to undo Max's pants.

Panic filled Max's mind and he tried kicking at Ares, but it didn't do anything. "H-hey, what are you d-doing! D-don't- Ares, stop!"

Ares didn't seem to listen and successfully got Max's pants off of him, revealing a couple cuts peeking out from under his boxers. Max went fully into panic mode when Ares grabbed the hem of his boxers to pull them down. He managed a kick against Ares' chest, strong enough to get him away temporarily, giving Max enough time to scramble up and throw himself to the corner of the room.

It's only been a few years since they escaped the scientists, but what they had done to him was still fresh in his mind. He never let any skin show around any of the others, besides Clarissa, and Ares  _knew_ this, yet he still went after him.

Ares stared at Max, huddled in the corner, curled into a ball, his wings around him as a protective shield. He realized he overstepped so many boundaries.

"...I'll go get Clarissa." 

And then he left.

The other thing that left Max's mouth was a whimper. He was causing himself so much more pain by curling up, but it was better than anything.

It didn't take long for him to feel the comforting hand of Clarissa stroke his wings, urging him to come out of hiding. Slowly, he did, his hazel eyes resting on her. She, with a comforting, soft voice, brought him over to the bed so she could help him. "You're ssscared, aren't you?" She asked him once he was sitting down.

Max gave a silent nod, not trusting himself to speak.

"You're sssafe, Max. They won't come after you again, and if they do, I'll kick their buttsss." 

Max only shook his head, staring at the ground. "...Ares made me remember..." His voice was so, so quiet. Clarissa almost didn't hear him.

She frowned when hearing that, carefully bandaging his cuts. When getting to the ones on his legs, she looked at him first for permission. Once Max gave a nod, she carefully took his boxers off of him to bandage his thighs.

Max quietly watched her, staying quiet. He felt safer with her being the one to do this than he would've with Ares. He always did. Even though he trusted Ares, that trust only went so far. With Clarissa, he could be naked as he is now and trust she wouldn't do anything to him.

They had a tighter bond than he and Ares did. And he'll never forget that.

Once he was fully bandaged, he got dressed in different clothes. After that, Clarissa sat down on the bed beside him, running a gentle hand against his wings. "Max," she said gently, causing the male to look at her, "how come Aresss came here in the firssst place?"

Max paused, biting his lip, before sighing. "...He wanted to see why I was acting strange at breakfast. Before I could tell him I had a nightmare, he took notice to my cuts and...it went from there. I didn't even get to tell him how horrible my nightmare had been, he only made me feel so much worse and I..." He took a deep breath. "He took my pants off, forced them off. I managed to kick him before he could pull my boxers off..."

"...Ah..."

Max looked away. "Out of him and Tavas, he's the only one I've been able to put at least some trust in, but... I don't think I can really trust him much after that. I feel...so alone, Clarissa..."

There was silence for a few seconds before Clarissa spoke again. "Max, can I tell you sssomething?"

Max looked at her, seeming to urge her to continue with just his gaze.

"You aren't alone, you never will be. I promissse that."

Max blinked then faintly smiled, moving to rest his head on her shoulder. He could really trust her word, he knew he could. After all, she had been the one to promise he'll have people he can trust, have people who he can call a family, and he does.

"I know," he barely whispered, and he really did. 

At least for as long as Clarissa and the others were at his side, he knew he'd never truly be alone.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been wanting to write about my babies ever since I created them. It was only recently that I actually started doing so, starting with my precious baby Max.


End file.
